Multiple ways to pluck a chicken
by Lord Vetinari
Summary: Well, this is based off of BTN when I started playing it. It's a Jack/Rick yaoi, (thus the PG13) you have been warned! I couldn't find any to read, so I made my own. Yay...? (Oh my god, I updated!!)
1. Moving In

::Alright, I was in the middle of putting up one fanfic when I decide to make another. Boy am I a committed person! Well, anyway, this one shouldn't be nearly as long as my other, but that's besides the point! I decided to do this 'cause I like Rick! He's my fav! Rick-o-mundo! Doin' the Rick thing! Rick-o-rama! Anyway, since you can't make Jack gay in the game, I'll write about him being that way. So HA! I just wish you could make Rick and Jack marry! ; . ; ::  
  
It was the 1st of Spring, with all of its trademarks already in full swing. The apple and cherry trees were blossoming with small pink explosions and the ground was white and yellow with daisies and dandilions. The pines and firs, being the only source of green just a few days ago, started renewing themselves with the bright, clean sunlight that was warming up all of the frozen ground. The day was warm, but not dry or harsh like in summer. A few of the petals from blossoms fluttered down and created pink and white puddles on the thawing soil. Thus was the day when Jack arrived.  
  
Jack was, as we all know, a young man with many dreams, hopes, and a red handkercheif. He was about 21, but looked younger. He had the innocence and kindness a child still has, and an air about him of youth that had never left him since childhood. And he came there, on that beautiful day, to try and resurrect the dead farm of his grandfather.  
  
"Well, this is what's left of your grandfather's farm.." The Mayor said doubtfully, looking at the overgrown lawn. A few crows fluttered by, landing on the weeds and boulders, basking in the sun. They were nothing more than black splotches on a hoplessly overgrown feild of green, brown, and grey.  
  
"This...This was Grampa's farm?" Jack said half to himself, looking at the ruined field. He walked a few paces ahead of the Mayor, taking a closer look. One of the crows laughed at him in its harsh voice for some unapparent reason. "But I remember it being so..."  
  
"That's generally what happens when a feild gets left by itself to grow." The Mayor explained with a shrug. Jack turned to him with an expression of confusion and accusation.  
  
"But if no one's taken care of this place, then why isn't the grass around the coop and the house overgrown like the fields? And how the heck did those boulders get there?! They weren't there before, someone would've had to literally bring them here and drop them off!" The Mayor stood in unexplained silence.  
  
"... Not sure why, ask Natsume before the next game." Jack sighed at the pitiful explanation.  
  
"Well, may as well get started at some point..." He said to himself once again, turning to the crow-infested field. He walked past the Mayor and started to put his boxes of stuff he brought from his apartment in the city back into his new one when the Mayor interrupted.  
  
"Uh, do you want me to show you around town?" He said in a hopefully helpful tone. Jack gave a dumbfounded look.  
  
"Um... I'm kinda unpacking... But if you're ok about waiting until I'm done putting this stuff away, then sure." Half an hour later, they left for a short tour of the village of Mineral Town.  
  
"Over here is the blacksmith's and the winery... And over here is the library and, well, my house.... And over here is our general store (you can get your seeds from here) and this is the clinic if you ever want a check up or if you feel sick. Over here is our church. It's run by Pastor Carter, he's a kind-hearted man... A little strange though. This here is the town's center, where we hold most of our festivals. To your left is our beach, but I wouldn't recommend swimming until summer. To your right is the inn, but it's also a restaraunt during the day and bar during the night. And if we continue straight up here, this would be Barley's. He owns cows and sheep with his little grandaughter May. And, our last stop, the poultry farm, run by Lillia, Popuri, and Rick."  
  
Jack looked around the entire time, thinking time and time again about how small a town this place truly was. He was hoping to find a girl, but this place seemed so small, all chances seemed...  
  
"Are there any girls here around my age...?" He shyly asked. The Mayor was at first startled, but let out a hearty chuckle. Or at least, as hearty a chuckle a 3'8" midget could muster.  
  
"Well, yes, actually, five of them. Elle, Karen, Popuri, Amy, and Mary. They're all unmarried and quite nice in their own ways, very nice company." This conforted Jack only in the sense he at least had a chance. Five. He was used to the thought of many fish in the sea, but now there were only five females in the pond. And then Rick walked out.  
  
Rick, a sensable yet stubborn young man, wore common but sturdy clothes everyday. He didn't have much of a wardrobe, but he was used to hard work, therefore his outfit suited his needs. Although he would have rathered to invent machines, he was content with his life of raising chickens, running errands, and occasionally hiking up the mountains. He wore his naturally orange hair long, which seemed to suit his tall body. His glasses slightly magnified his deep blue eyes, eyes that would violently defend or attack at any given moment or reason. At this particular moment, he had just walked out to feed the chickens and check on the incubating chicken eggs. Jack, for unexplained reasons, fell silent, staring. By the time the Mayor put two and two together that he was staring at Rick, he decided to make a one- way introduction.  
  
"Ah, that's Rick. He's the main force behind the poultry farm; his mother is the brains, and Popuri takes care of the eggs. Rick's a little hot headed and stubborn, but good at heart." As though called, Rick looked up at the staring two.  
  
"Hello, Mayor." He said in a tired voice. He wasn't in that energetic a mood, but that was no reason to forget all of his manners. "How are things for you?"  
  
"Doing quite nicely, thank you." The Mayor replied, smiling back. Rick yawned.  
  
"Who is that with you? I don't recognize the face." The Mayor nodded and pointed politely to Jack.  
  
"This is Jack, now in charge of the old farm next door." Jack greeted him with a blank stare and a few blinks. Rick waited for a real hello of some sort, but since none came, he started walking back to his work.  
  
"It's nice to meet you, Jack, but I'm afraid I'm a little busy right now. Perhaps we can talk some other time." Jack, his expression never changing, dumbfoundedly nodded, but Rick never noticed.  
  
"Well," the Mayor said, finally getting Jack's attetion, "I think I'd better go home and get some breakfast. I think you had better get started on unpacking anyway, but if you have any questions, come to me. My home will always be open to you, keep that in mind." There was silence until Jack's mind, greatly slowed with confused thoughts, finally figured out that he was supposed to reply.  
  
"Oh. Oh yeah! Thank you... I'll be heading... uh, home now." He left, the blank expression never changing. Silent guy, Rick thought, having overheard the excuse of a conversation.  
  
His mind in places he was unaware of, Jack placed a few objects from their boxes onto shelves and drawers without knowing it. He found his diary and placed it next to his bed, contiplated, and finally decided to make an entry.  
  
"Dear Diary," He began with his traditional greeting, "I've arrived to Mineral Town and already started some unpacking. I think I'll have lunch soon, but as soon as I'm done with this. So how are things with you? And how come I never get a reply to that question? Anyway. There are only five girls I can date here. Can you believe that? Five! What if I don't like any of them? I'd have to go out of town to get a girlfriend! Egad, so much for the 'many fish in the sea'... Maybe I shouldn't have moved to from the sea to this pond . I saw many pretty-looking tributaries along the way... Well, I should at least check this place out first, right? ....Right...? I'll just take that as a 'yes'. I met a guy named Rick, but I couldn't say anything. I wonder why? The shock I got is starting to wear off.. Yes, I did get shock. I wish I knew what it meant. I think my subconscious just mistook him for a girl; if he was, I'd certainly start checking her out. But enough of my non-existent romantic life, I have to get started on my farming! So see you later, Diary! Start sending back letters, ok?"  
  
Relunctant to leave his silent friend, Jack convinced his hand to let go of the diary and put it onto the table. After succeeding this, he quickly ate breakfast and decided to do some weeding. He pulled the weeds out of the corner nearest to his house. A few crows landed nearby, watching the blue and white creature tearing out the plants. He then took out his grandfather's hoe, and tilled the land for seeding. He was about to pull some seeds out but he then remembered he had none. Well, maybe he should explore the place a bit more, he figured. So, since he still had an entire afternoon, he left towards the mountain.  
  
Along the way, he saw some stairs which, figuring from the map, must've led to the town's public hotsprings. He paused, listening. There was a soft voice crying, his ears hadn't decieved him. Following the sound, he went up the previously observed stairs to see a young woman with long pink hair and a black, white, and red dress, curled up next to a small river flowing by a nearby waterfall. Jack silently crept up next to her, and gently put his hand on her shuddering shoulder.  
  
"What's the matter?" He said in a gentle voice, trying to calm her. She sobbed a few more times, but finally looked up to him with her large, red eyes.  
  
"R..." She started, interrupting herself with her sobs, "Rick.... I left a chicken out and R-Rick came and s-said that it was- it was m-MY fault that some wild dogs came a-and..." Jack kneeled in front of her, with his hand still on her shoulder, trying to confort her in any way. "He said it was my f-fault and- and we argued... B-Because I thought I had put it in, I thought that it h-had g-gotten out by a hole in the coop and blamed it on h- him... He can be so mean!!" She bursted out. He stroked her hair, trying to think of a kind thing to say in the given situation.  
  
"My sympathies..." He started, "It must be hard to let a dear animal like that go..." Her sobs finally softened down to soft whines.  
  
"It was like a friend to me... Its name was Pon... M-My dad gave it to me, and-" She bursted into sobbing again, "WAAAHHHH!! I'm going to miss it so much! Pon was a good chicken! She did nothing wrong!!" She leapt into the blue-overalled boy's shoulder for support, sobbing even harder than before. He said nothing, petting her hair gently until she got the pain out of her system. Time passed.  
  
"Thanks..." She said, finally getting up on her own, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I really needed that... I'm sorry for crying on you like that..."  
  
"It's alright," Jack said, adjusting his balance, "If I didn't want to help you, I wouldn't have.. No offense." She smiled, still trying to get the tears off of her face.  
  
"None taken... Thank you." She stood up, and Jack followed suit. "By the way, I don't think I've seen you before... What is your name?"  
  
"I'm Jack. I'm going to be working on the farm over there." He said with a helpful point.  
  
"I'm sorry, what a way to meet someone new. I'm Popuri, I live in the poultry farm next to yours." She brushed herself off, trying to regain some dignity after what she did a few minutes ago. "Again, I'm sorry, I should be going. It was nice to meet you, Jack, and thanks." With a wave, Popuri walked by and left.  
  
Jack decided that now would be a good time to buy the seeds and plant them, seeing it was now about 1:45. Another thing bothered him: the forcast had said earlier a storm was coming. He could already see the sky starting to turn grey with clouds. A quick sprint over to the store, and he almost ran into an older man in a purple vest on running into the store so suddenly.  
  
"Woah, li'l guy, where's the fire??" He said, half in a humorous tone, half in an annoyed one. Jack took two steps back and bowed in apology.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir! I wanted to get some seeds before the sun went away.. There's a storm coming, so while the sun was here I wanted to plant them." The man smiled with a nod, and returned to his business.  
  
"As I was saying," he said to the storekeeper, now ignoring Jack, "I want to get this... I'll pay you next time." The store owner's face became clouded with confusion.  
  
"Next time..? But last time you said you'd pay me for that sushi 'next time', so you should be paying me now... And even before that, you said you'd pay me 'next time' for the pan.. And before that.." The older man interrupted him.  
  
"Don't worry! I promise I'll pay you for all of that next time!" The storekeeper sighed, his face now darkened by giving up.  
  
"Alright...Next time..." The older man started walking by Jack when he took some incentive and blocked his way out.  
  
"What is it now, fireman?" He said in a half joke/half mocking voice.  
  
"You should pay for the things you get out of a store, you know." Jack said in the same tone. The older man tried to get past him, but Jack blocked his way again, and again, and again.. Just then the door in the corner of the room slammed shut, as a young woman with long brown hair came in with a stern expression, glaring at the older man.  
  
"Duke!" She yelled, "Are you buying on credit again?! You should pay for the things you buy! You never pay for the things you take!" Duke shrugged in defeat.  
  
"Alright, alright, Karen, you caught me, I'll pay..." Reluncantly he waddled up to the storekeeper and gave him the amount due for the item, and without a word he left. Karen sighed in frustration and relief.  
  
"Dad, you're never going to get anyone to pay us for these things if you never enforce it..." She walked up to Jack. "Thank you, sir." She paused. "I don't think I've seen you before, what's your name?"  
  
"I'm Jack!" He said with a smile. Wow, he thought, I've already met two of them! They're not all that bad, either... "I just moved into the old farm.."  
  
"Oh! The one with the mysterious appearing boulders! Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Well, nice to meet you! I'm Karen. I'll be here in the store if you need anything, but right now I have a few new items I have to rearrange..." Jack was only able to nod, buy some random seeds, and left with a red face.  
  
Once outside, he started on his way home, running past the library. Unfortunately, someone else ran out and into his way. On impact, Jack immediately blocked his own fall and then tried to check the person he ran into without seeing.  
  
"Are you alright?" He said, more out of force of habit than of concern. He apparently met another of the five ladies. She was a slightly older girl, in a plain blue dress with a white shirt. Her hair was long and black, with thick black glasses. She screamed her occupation and personality; shy, kind librarian, but her kindness and gentle personality made up for her obvious looks.  
  
"Y-yeah, I think so.. I'm so sorry, I saw the sun outside and I just wanted a breath of fresh air... Are you alright?" Jack had forgotten to check himself for wounds. He then noticed that his leg was starting to turn red... "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" She immediately bent over to check on it. "Oh wow, you really scraped it, I'm so sorry!" She quickly waddled over to the other side of the sidewalk, looking for some plants or leaves, as it seemed. What an...interesting girl, he thought. She returned with a few small, thin green leaves.  
  
"Here," she said as she once again bent over the wound and started to cover it with the leaves, "this will stop any infections." Jack bit his lip to keep his face from wincing or making any pained noises. "You'd better go to the clinic... Oh, I'm just so sorry! What a way to meet someone! Need any help?" Jack tested his newly leaf-ed leg.  
  
"No, I think I'm alright.. I'll be ok." With a few more apologies, he was finally able to leave to the clinic, of which, lo and behold, held another of the five women! As soon as he walked in, her soft face, normally painted in a happy position, flashed into concern for the limping young man with the wet red leg covered with leaves.  
  
"Oh my, what happened to you?" Jack began to recognize a pattern in this day...  
  
"Scraped my leg up a bit, that's all." She rushed to him, fully armed with cotton swabs and disinfectant. It was even harder now to keep from making a face, since the disinfectant felt more like acid.  
  
"My... If I'm not mistaken, you're the new boy moving in, right? How do you expect to run a farm like this when the first day you arrive you get such a cut?" Confused, Jack looked back down to her to see by her expression that it was a joke. "How did you get this, anyway?"  
  
"Accidently ran into the librarian.." He answered sheepishly.  
  
"Oh, Mary?" She chuckled, "I'm sorry, but she is a bit clumsy.. But she's a good person, she is.." Finally, she bandaged the wound and set him to go. "By the way," she said before he left, "I'm sorry we never got the chance to introduce ourselves properly. I'm Elle, the clinic's nurse. It was nice to meet you."  
  
Jack was now finally on his way home, despite the bandaged leg. He decided to take the other route by the inn to avoid any sprinting librarians. And, following the pattern he had noticed, this path would more likely lead him to the last of the five girls. He grinned with a blush; what a day to start work, meeting all of his possible futures!  
  
"Oh, DAD! You can be so stubborn!" A younger lady bursted through the door, yelling. It was, as he had guessed, the last one. She was obviously a tomboy, and similarilly dressed to himself, but she was in the middle of an arguement. She slammed the doors, sighed in frustration, and then turned to see the young, slightly limping farmer watching.  
  
"Oh!" She exclaimed, startled, "I'm sorry! I was arguing with my dad... He thinks I should hurry up and get married, but I can't even begin to picture myself getting married..."  
  
"I can't blame you." Jack said honestly. "It's hard to picture one's dreams when yours are completely different..."  
  
"Exactly." She agreed, "And besides, I have yet to get a boyfriend, so it might be hopless as it is... But like I care. Sorry again about that, oh, and my name is Ann. What's yours?"  
  
"I'm the new guy in town, Jack. I just moved into the old farm..."  
  
"Oh! The old guy's! So you're the new guy? I thought you'd be a bit more muscular for some reason... Oh well. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a lot of chores to get done..." He sighed, losing his first chance for a real conversation with one of these women.. But then, he had his own chores to do...  
  
"As do I, so maybe we can talk later. Good bye, Ann." Now that Jack had met all of the five eligable girls in some obscure situation or other, he now had the chance to go home and back to his work, undestracted. 


	2. Sumo Chickens and Demonic Dogs

::Alrighty! I let this update go a little too long for my preference... But anyway, I'm afraid that I might have made Rick act a little ooc, but it makes sense from what you see of him. ("I hate that guy Kai!!" "Only Karen knows the real me..." "Popuri's ungrateful for anything I do! Grrr..." "I HATE KAI!!") ...Ok, so that's a bit too general, but I'm just writing a fanfic...don't sue me! Oh yeah, copyright stuff. I don't own Harvest Moon or it's charecters, yada yada yada, blah blah blah... Oh, and I'm sorry, for those of you who like the dog, (I find him annoying and useless, so my dislike of him is reflected in this.) I'm really, really, REALLY sorry... I just couldn't help myself::  
  
It was later that day; Rick was still outside, working hard for the chickens' safety, food, ect. It was another spring, another year to him. Once again, he had lost a year's chance for meeting someone, the chance to begin living on his own, to begin his own life, but... But once again, he was too stubborn, he had argued too much, he was too hot tempered.. It seemed as though no one could get past his argumentative nature, but it wasn't always just him. No one seemed to analyze the situation from his perspective anymore, as it had been for a few years now. Years come and go, he thought, and this year will probably be no different.  
  
Just then, he saw that new guy, Jack walking by. Jack paused, looked over, smiled, and waved. A little confused, Rick waved back.  
  
"Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" He asked in a friendly, yet confused tone. No one said hello in any way, shape, or form to him unless it was out of manners or if they wanted to buy something.  
  
"No, I was just passing by..." Jack answered, and looked around. A small, awkward pause. "The Mayor said you were the main force behind this farm; mind telling me what you do?" Rick was even more confused. This guy's questions and actions weren't on his subconscious grid of "Ways to React to Others".  
  
"Uhh, I guess...why?" Jack opened the fence and walked over to him.  
  
"Oh, just because since I'm going to be running my own farm and raising livestock, I'd like to learn how to raise chickens from an expert." Someone recognized him for something? Something positive??  
  
"I wouldn't call myself an expert..." He said, looking down. An "expert" on chickens, no less... What a way to impress a girl. "But, I do take more care of the chickens than my mother or Popuri... I guess it wouldn't hurt." He walked into the first coop, and Jack assumed he was supposed to follow. However, the handkerchiefed youth was startled when he came in through the threshold and found himself face-to-face with a chicken. "This is Begak." Rick announced in an one-way introduction.  
  
"O-okay, hi, Begak... Poor thing startled me..." Jack said in a shaky voice. Rick chuckled.  
  
"Sorry, I just had to do that. Ok, so, let's start with the basics." He let Jack hold the confused chicken. "This, obviously, is a chicken. They like corn, grain, bugs, worms, little things." Begak lightly fluttered in Jacks hands, feathers flying in a few directions. "They have few expressions, and don't seem like they have that much intelligence or mental compassity for much, but despite this they actually like people and can tell them apart." Now Begak was struggling from the big blue-and-white thing, feathers spewing. Jack wrestled it to the ground, and they engaged in a battle of man and chicken.  
  
"When you're raising chickens," Rick continued, "it's best to keep them out whenever possible, including winter. Although, if it snows or rains, they won't be happy with themselves or you. If you forget, they'll just be in a bad mood for about a day or so, but they can get sick, and if you make it a habit to leave them out, you might find yourself attacked one day." Begak was now standing on top of Jack, triumphant in battle. "As you can see, chickens are also pretty strong. If you do get one soon, you might be able to bring it to the next Chicken Festival. It's actually rather fun, pretty much chicken sumo-wrestling." Jack was silent, waiting... Begak, content with its glorious triumph, sat down on Jack's stomach, daring him for more with his eyes. Suddenly, Jack pounced and round two began. "So, you planning on getting a chicken sometime soon or what?" Rick asked, ending the lecture. Jack quickly stood ramrod straight, Begak balancing itself on his hat.  
  
"Well, I plan on doing that sometime, maybe this Spring if I can afford it." Rick took back the happy Begak.  
  
"Hmm, looks like Begak likes you." The chicken glared at him with rage and hatred, daring and testing him for a round three. Rick placed it down with its other chicken friends. "Anyway, thanks for listening... Chickens aren't the most exciting subject in the world..."  
  
"Sure, thanks for teaching me." Jack responded, attention focused on taking the feathers off of his hat. He glanced outside to find out the time. The sun was far towards the west. "I should be going home if I plan on sowing the seeds today... I just have one question."  
  
"Sure thing." Rick said with a smile, happy with the last chance of a conversation.  
  
"Do you know how those giant boulders got onto my farm? I know they weren't there when my grandfather was in charge..." Rick's happy expression was gone, replaced with that of a confusing concept brought back up.  
  
"Those boulders? I really don't know... Some say the spirits of your grandfather's livestock came and did it for some reason, but I think it was a glitch." Jack walked out the door, looking over his shoulder.  
  
"Dang it, gotta figure it out... Well, thanks Rick, see you later." With that, he was out of the door. Doesn't seem all that bad, Rick thought to himself.  
  
Jack skipped home, despite his leg and the disasterous loss to the chicken. Quickly whipping out the seeds and watering can, he sowed and watered the newly tilled soil. The crows hopped back and forth, confused with the big blue and white thing's constant string of baffling actions. Suddenly, they flew away and scattered, running from something more deadly and dangerous than a big blue and white creature, or a sumo-wrestling chicken....  
  
The dog.  
  
With a red glare in his eyes, the dog in all of his orange fury chased the crows off of the feild, barked at a weed that was trying its luck with him, ran into the arrogant tree in his territory a few times, and then he turned to Jack. Jack decided the seeds had gotten enough watering for that day and now would be a good time to go into his house. It was amazing that he got sleep at all with the dog outside, barking...  
  
The next morning went better. He walked out to see the seeds were already starting to sprout a bit. There were no crows or posessed dogs. Jack watered his plants, ate breakfast, and went to the mountains to search for herbs and bamboo to sell. He continued past the hotsprings, a small mountain lake which fed the stream and waterfall below, and up a small meadow. Jack paused, looking about here. There was a bunch of monotonously colored flowers with a few specks of white, and a several large cherry and apple trees blossoming. Jack surveyed the area a few more minutes, trying to figure out why it caught his attention so. It reminded him of something...  
  
Then, a memory slowly floated back to him like driftwood in the sea. The first time he was there, the actual first time... It was with his grandfather, and he had been there before, in that meadow. He had decided to explore the mountain a bit, and after some strenuous hiking and rock climbing, the meadow seemed like a nice place to flop and rest for a while. Not even two minutes after, he dazed off...  
  
That was when he heard the singing. It came from his right, in front of him, paused, and then next to him. When it suddenly stopped, Jack woke up to see a girl about his age staring down next to him. There was some conversation, story telling of their lives, and then she wanted to show him something, something she loved... It was the view from the nearby peak, a wonderful sight worth the harsh running and jumping and playing from earlier in the day. She asked for him to sing with her this time, and he didn't sound that bad at all! Maybe he should start singing at school or when he goes back home! But,... Jack wondered, but... Why didn't I? Why didn't I remember to...? That was when he remembered the next bit.. He fell. That would stunt someone's song. The girl screamed, he tumbled along the rocky landscape, and then... Then he couldn't remember anymore.  
  
Jack shook his head, having almost consciously relived that scene, and decided to turn back. Quickly putting the successful fruits of his hunt into the magical produce bin, he watered his turnip sprouts. Suddenly a foreboding sense flooded the feild, as clouds covered the sky. Across the feild, the crows had suddenly taken to flight. Jack strained his eyes to see what it was, but it was nothing other than...  
  
The dog.  
  
Jack thought that then would be a good time to go into town. Upon leaving the farm, he stopped to refrain running into Popuri and a young girl next to her.  
  
"Nice to see you again, Kai!" Popuri welcomed, "Whenever you're here I really know it's summer." The young man she was referring to said nothing but grinned arrogantly in pleasure. The young one tugged gently and Popuri's skirt for her attention.  
  
"But wait, Miss Popuri... Didn't Spring just start?" Popuri fell silent, and the purple-handkercheifed youth's expression fell into embarassment and confusion.  
  
"Wait.. I'm supposed to be here right before Summer starts, not the beginning of Spring... You're right! Ack!" He started to waddle off in haste and frustration.  
  
"Wait!" Popuri begged, "Couldn't you just stay here a season longer than usual?" Kai turned around, frustrated and tanned face a deep color due to embarassed blushing.  
  
"My rivalry with that guy isn't supposed to start YET!" He whined, and then stormed off. Jack glanced at the script. The poor guy was right. Popuri sighed and walked off, as the girl finally waddled in her own direction. Jack went his own was by the general store, wandering. He didn't really know where he was going, he was focused on something to pass the time until the dog of doom had left his farm.  
  
"Hello!" A voice stated, startling Jack out of his wandering daze. Looking, he found Rick. He smiled and waved, half out of manners, half out of their conversation from yesterday. Jack returned the greeting warmly. Perhaps Rick was going to be his first friend made there?  
  
"So what have you been up to?" Jack asked, happy to see him again. Rick gestured to the large burlap sacks next to him.  
  
"I'm doing some errands for Mom... Namely picking up the grain for the chickens right now. But for this moment I decided to take a small break." Seemingly to prove the point more, he sat down on the bench. "How about yourself?"  
  
"I'm taking a break myself... There's this dog...thing...in my farm and... Well, I don't want to get in its way. And trust me, if you ever saw this dog, you'd want to keep out of its way too..." Rick silently nodded, although confused. I guess this is what you call fresh meat, he thought to himself as Jack sat down next to him, I can finally make a friend who isn't baist about my past.  
  
"Hey," Rick started, "If you're interested in raising chickens, well, I was wondering if you could help me for right now." Jack cocked his head in curiosity. "Well, my mother's kinda sick right now, and if I didn't have so many chickens, I could help her more..." He chuckled in mid sentence, thinking of another situation. "Popuri's always complaining about how easy my life seems since all I do is 'take care of the chickens'. Ah, she has yet to figure out the meaning of 'bills' and 'mortgage'... Anyway, since you seemed interested in poultry farming yesterday, I was hoping you could take care of a few of them for a few weeks... You can keep any eggs they lay, and I'll even give you food for the time they'll be there, if you help me with this..."  
  
"Of course!" Jack exclaimed, startling Rick, "Why wouldn't I? You're being pretty generous, shouldn't you get 70% of the money from the eggs? And you don't have to be so formal about asking me to help you, of course I will! What kind of person would I be if I didn't? You sound like you're asking the Goddess to ressurect a lost one." Rick was shocked and dumbfounded.  
  
"You'll...? Just help me...? Like that...?" Jack made a mock-teasing grin.  
  
"Well, duh!" Rick still didn't seem to comprehend it. "Who wouldn't?" Anyone else in this village, Rick bitterly thought.  
  
"You're right," Rick finally replied, accepting the generosity, "I'll send the chickens over to your place and put the grain in the fodder... I'm pretty glad we had that Chickens 101 yesterday right now, aren't you?" he joked.  
  
"More like CWF*... Your chickens sure can fight." Jack joked back. (*CWF as in Chicken Wrestling Federation.) They both departed in their own ways, when Jack suddenly stopped, and yelled to Rick. "WAIT!" Rick turned, confused. "You might wanna stay away from there for a while, that dog might still be around!" Rick shrugged and changed his path, carrying the large sack over his shoulder. Jack took the long way, along the townsquare home. He waddled and dawdled the time, trying to take as long as possible before heading home. However, when he passed the poultry farm, Rick ran right by him, screaming the dickens and chased by the orange furball of death. I thought I warned him, Jack mentally sighed, and took a hand-sized rock from along the path.  
  
"HEADS UP!" He yelled to get Rick's attention on the flying rock. It hit the target, but not in the right spot. He had aimed for its leg but instead hit its chest. The dog yelped, falling over.  
  
"IWANNASAYTHANKSBUTIGOTTAHIDE!!" Rick screamed as he ran inside. The dog regained its bearings and set its homing signal for a new target; the blue- white tall thing. It was now Jack's turn to run and scream the entire way home. 


	3. A dream is a deathwish your heart makes....

::Ok! The wild duck/penguin-loving author IS alive! The duckies have played a trick on me; I was thinking about what to have happen next but they gave me ideas for events far later in the story instead! (Those evil, EVIL torturing duckies!!) But anyway, a ducky stayed to help me with this chapter. I'm just sorry it took so long to make it! I don't want to go day by day in this story- that would be pretty boring now, wouldn't it! So I think I'll start skipping days. Anyway, I re-apologize for the dog.. I feel bad 'cause I'm not sure if there's anyone who likes it, but either way, I wrote it and that makes me an evil, EEVIL writer! Bad author! No author treats! .....Man, being one's own master can get confusing like that... Anyway, the ducky also gave me a few ideas for interesting relationships later.. The sad thing is that I'm making this up as I go along. Wait! I wasn't supposed to say that aloud! ..Is anyone reading this...? *Slowly scootches away*::  
  
"Come on!" The girl begged. The sun was setting over the peaks of the mountain range miles away, turning the late summer trees from golden-orange to a flaming red and the lakes to a shining yellow. "Sing with me! La la laaa la la laa laaaa... Oh, you're no fun! Sing with me! Pleaase??" She started the song again, and this time she was joined by a boy's voice.  
  
"La la laaa la la laa laaaa, laa laa laaaa, la la llwwWWWAAAAHHH!!" Falling down a cliff! Smackity- wham! Whump! Jack woke up to a start, almost leaping out of his bed. For a few minutes, he stayed still, trying to regain his breath and berings. His sheets were damp with sweat, and it was 5:45 according to the clock on his wall. What a lovely dream. Finally he decided that it he may as well get up anyway since now he had chickens to take care of..  
  
He briskly ran into the coop. There were five hens, happily clucking and five eggs they had laid. Jack scooped the eggs up one by one, and placed three of them into one of the magical transporting bins and the other two into his icebox for now. He then quickly made a makeshift pen for them to be in, since the weather report claimed a sunny day tomorrow. The ground was still wet from the storm the night before, but the warm sunlight would soon take care of that. Jack ran back and forth, grabbing a chicken from the coop and dropping them off in the pen. The first was confused, the second one was relunctant to go, the third was afraid of what the giant red- handkerchiefed thing would do, the fourth didn't do much about it, but the fifth recognized him.  
  
It ran from him, darted to the side, dodged and ducked from him. Whenever Jack came close to grabbing the stubborn chicken, it would rapidly peck him like no tomorrow, forcing him to withdraw and give it the fraction of a second it needed to sprint its chicken legs to the other side of the coop. This brave, strong, and daring chicken was of course none other that Begak. Jack finally caught onto this half an hour later when he found himself pinned by the chicken once again, on the ground. This chicken wasn't so easily won over, obviously. Jack wrestled with the chicken for the fourth time and managed to catch it in his had. Begak clucked and pecked, but to no avail. Discontentidly, it preened itself and glared at Jack through the pen.  
  
"Hello? Anyone here?" A voice asked across the field. Jack whipped around to see it was the young librarian. He ran up.  
  
"Yeah, I'm here. Sorry, I was taking care of my chickens..." Jack took one last look at them, but Begak's hot glare told him to look elsewhere. "Is there something I can help you with?" The young lady looked to the ground.  
  
"Well, actually I came to apologize for what happened a couple days ago.. I'm really sorry about your leg." Jack, a little taken back, started to laugh. The librarian was startled. "What's so funny?"  
  
"Well, geez, it isn't like you didn't apologize enough when it happened, you know.. Hee hee hee, that's all you were saying, over and over again.."  
  
"Oh, wow, you're right!" She giggled, "I'm sorry, I just wasn't sure if you were ok or not; it was a bad scrape.."  
  
"Aw, it's nothing to worry about," Jack reasurred her, "If I'm going to run a farm I'd better get used to pain, ne?"  
  
"Well, at least you're doing better..." She brought out a basket. "Anyway, I came to give this to you..." Her face turned slightly red. "Um, well, as yet another form of apology." She handed it to Jack, who took it in surprise.  
  
"Woah! Thanks!" He smiled. "Now I don't have to cook lunch!" The two laughed, and Mary went along back to the library. Jack went to watering his plants. What exciting work, he thought. The job over before it was even 9:00, he decided to take a hike up Mother's Hill again. Along the way, Jack met one of his neighboors while walking by the lake; an older man with bushy, brown hair all over his face.  
  
"Young man, where do you think you're going?" He asked in a blunt, loud tone. Jack helpfully pointed with a smile.  
  
"I'm just taking a morning stroll." The older man's expression became serious.  
  
"You should be careful then.. The mountain is not a thing to underestimate, especially if this is your first time on it." Jack was confused if the man was concerned or annoyed.  
  
"Oh, well no, actually, I've been here when I was a kid."  
  
"Say what?! I've lived in this village since I was born; I don't recognize you, you couldn't have lived here! I'm sorry, you must be a little confused.."  
  
"Say what? Oh!" Jack laughed. "I'm sorry, jeez! I forgot to say, I just moved in!" The brown-bearded man was only more confuesd. "You see, I'm the grandson of the man who used to live on that farm.." He said, pointing.  
  
"Oh, I get it!" The older man bursted out laughing. "I see, you're that kid who came here years ago! Wow, I thought that happened a bit more recently than that.. Oh well, it's nice to see that the old man's farm isn't going to waste.. I'm Gotz; I'm the one to turn to if you plan on expanding your house or barns."  
  
"I'm Jack! It's nice to meet you!" Gotz looked around.  
  
"Well, I'd love to sit and chat, but right now I'm looking for my breakfast... I use the mountain for my food. Anyway, it was nice to meet you too.."  
  
"Well, I'll leave you to your gathering then. Bye!" Jack left and continued his hike. Along the way, he picked a few flowers that caught his eye in the small meadow, remembering the girl from his memory. A little higher, and he was now at the highest point in all of Mineral town, let alone anywhere miles around. The view was spectacular, with a large expanse of forest below, abundant vallies, snow-capped mountains in the distance, and crystal blue lakes spotting the area. How could he have forgotten such a sight??  
  
"Hello? Jack?" He heard from behind. He whipped around to see Karen.  
  
"Oh, hello, Karen! What are you doing here?" She walked up to him near the edge.  
  
"I come here now and then for the view.. Besides, it gets me out of the house, you know? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Ah, not much.. I finished my work early, so I decided to take a walk up here. Quite the view!" Karen smiled.  
  
"I know.. I've been coming up here since I was a kid." Jack looked at the beautiful scenery when his train of thought crashed. Duh! This was the place he dreamt about last night!! Carefully inching, Jack peered down the hill's sharp edge. "What are you doing..?" Karen asked in a cautious tone. Jack didn't reply; his mind was too busy reliving the fall. "Jack..? Are you alright..?" It was this hill... This exact same hill.. Right here... "Jack? Hello? Are you hearing me??" Jack noticed he had once again leaned a little too far.  
  
"WHAYAAIIEE!!" He screamed, flailing his arms like a particular chicken, turning 180 degrees, and falling over the edge. He suddenly jerked, mind still giving a confused frenzy of thoughts, when he realized he was facing the cliff's wall. Looking up to see what stopped him from falling the other 147 feet down, he saw a worried Karen holding onto his hand while laying on the hill's surface.  
  
"What were you thinking?!" She yelled. He couldn't respond; he couldn't even give himself an answer. She hauled him up to the top like a bundle of crops. "Are you alright??" Shakily, Jack dusted himself off.  
  
"Thanks.." He sheepishly said, unable to find any decent way to regain dignity, "..I'm fine.."  
  
"What were you thinking? Could you even hear me?" He glanced back at the drop, and then made a quick mental council as to whether or not to tell her about his dream last night.  
  
"Well, I was kinda distracted.." Should I tell her, he was rapidly thinking, would she even believe me?  
  
"By what?"  
  
"Well..." Pause. "I had a dream last night where.. Where this girl and I were here, standing.. I think it was based off of a memory from my vacation here, I don't know.. But I dreamt I fell off and then I woke up.. I was distracted because I was freaked out about how similar this all looked." He glanced about once more. "In fact, I think it actually IS the same hill." Karen cocked her head.  
  
"Well, that certainly IS an odd thing.. Oh well, so long as you stay awar from that edge for a while, ok?"  
  
"Sure.. Thanks again." The two left the hill and went back into town, parting at his farm. Jack thought of activities to get his mind off of the hill incident. It was 1:40 now. Time sure seemed to go fast here..  
  
Memories of a frantic Rick running away from a certain dog made him wonder if he should pay the poor orange-haired one a visit, but then Jack remembered that Rick had given him the chickens to take care of in the first place because his mother was sick, so a guest probably wasn't what he needed right now... Right then a particular organ we like to call the stomach told Jack it was time to eat. Now. However, having almost fallen over 150 feet nearly vertically, not even ten minutes ago, made him somewhat relunctant to cook. So, recalling the midget mayor's words that the inn also served as a restaraunt, he quickly departed that general direction for some food while the author didn't notice that he had already recieved a good lunch earlier in this chapter. (Who cares? Plot development good! He was saving it for later! Really!)  
  
"Um.. Excuse me..?" A voice mildly interrupted his hungry strut. Turning around, he saw a young man about his age, but by his face and clothes, it was obvious he was an experienced traveller. His clothes may have once been colored, but they were now calm shades of brown and worn. His dark hair was somewhat long, kept in a ponytail to avoid any extra need of caring for it. It looked as though the poor man had just stepped into civilization from the bushes for the first time... Jack was startled, but couldn't find any words to say to the stranger.  
  
"..Is there something I can help you with..?" He finally asked. The dusty- chocolate haired on looked down and humbly scratched his head, searching for words.  
  
"Yeah, uh.. Is there an inn nearby? Or somewhere I can stay for a while..? You see, I've been traveling for some while and wanted to rest for a few days.." Jack absentmindedly pointed to his destination without knowing it, a little shocked and confused.  
  
"Yeah.. It's over there; I was just heading there myself." The stranger smiled to hear the news and his weary face brightened. A pause without a single word in sight. "Where are you heading, anyway?"  
  
"Oh! Well, I.. I kinda left home to travel... Not for anything in particular, but.." He looked down again, then snapped his gaze back to Jack. "Sorry, I should introduce myself if I'm going to be around here for a while.. I'm Cliff." Jack made put on his normal friendly smile.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Cliff. I'm Jack. I just moved in here myself." Cliff smiled back.  
  
"Oh really? What brought you here?"  
  
"My grandfather used to run a farm here.." Jack's stomach reminded him of his interrupted journey. "Hey, I'm not sure about you, but I'm famished... Want to get lunch? It'll be on me." Cliff was startled, smiled, but then remembered manners.  
  
"I shouldn't, I was the one who took you out of your way. I'll pay for it." Thus the interesting battle of politness began.  
  
"Oh, no, I insist! You just got here!" The first line of fire was sent!  
  
"Yes, and it should be my treat to you as temporary new villager." The counter attack was unusually strong!  
  
"I'm a new villager too! You must be tired, and besides, you're going to be paying to stay at the inn; I insist I'll pay for it." Cliff was cornered! Then, looking to the left, he found an escape route; and some ammo with it.  
  
"You should save that money for hard times if you're a farmer. I'm just a traveler, I can manage to get money when I need it; I don't have a particular home or job to take care of." Jack thought for a few seconds for a counter attack, but then the reinforcements came!  
  
"I'm the one who offered to go to lunch, I believe I should pay for it and you be the guest since you just arrived." Once again Cliff's defense was battered. He searched wildly for any form of offence he could take, but the situation seemed hopeless.. "Do you surrender?"  
  
"I give up.." He sighed amusedly. Together, they strutted into the inn and equally ate a scary amount of meals. 


	4. From Retrospect to Excorcism Did I Spel...

::*Dodges the duckies weilding hammers of Doom* *Notices the audience, grabs her spare Carlos(*) and leaves him to deal with the Doom hammer- weilding ducks* Oh, hello there! (Carlos: What the- AAAHHHH!!) I'm sorry I took so darn long to even get STARTED on this.. I was too busy with my barely-existent academic and social life.. (Ducks: Oh REALLY? What about that extra 17 hours you logged into Tales of Phantasia..?? What about those times you watched Metropolis in all three languages..?! Or the-) ^- ^; Eh-heh.. Enough about that. So let's see, I just introduced Cliff.. Now for (mwa ha ha haa) PASTOR CARTER! All hail the Carter. King of strawberry milk. (*To let you know, Carlos is my human pet hamster I constantly "abuse". ((In other words, I give him a lot of random bear hugs and pet him like a hamster.)) ) Anyway, I took a few paragraphs to help develop Rick's character n' I also squeezed in Grey! But anyway.::  
  
Jack woke up to a full stomach. The last night at the inn impressed all who were there; both the red-handkercheifed one and the brown wanderer ate enough food to feed the rest of the village. Well, impressed wasn't really the word..  
  
"BEGAAAAKK!" The sumo chicken of the respective name cried. Go away, Jack wished as he turned over, stomach pinning him down. "Cluck!" She cried again, "Cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck-BEGAAAAK!!" Suddenly Jack's eyes shot open as he suddenly heard the unmistakeable growls and barks of..  
  
The dog.  
  
Doning on his blue hat, large white shirt, and his casual blue overalls, Jack scrambled out of the small house as fast as he could. The Evil Orange One let go of the wrestling chicken and glared at the blue-and-white enemy; unmistakably the one who launched that stone missle into his chest. Begak hurried to get back onto her feet and ran away in her wet-with-drool- chicken manner back to her worried friends. The Fluffball of Doom didn't care. The Handkercheifed Enemy was lured out of its hiding place.  
  
"What do YOU want?!" Jack yelled with all of the courage he could muster. "W-.. What is your PROBLEM anyway?! Y-You stupid dog!" The frosty, insane glare of the furry one silenced the poor farmer. Trying desperately to regain his wits for defence, Jack looked around him to recognize a rake leaning against his house's wall. The Orange Fury grew impatient; he lunged! Jack grabbed the rake as fast as he could and whipped it in defense at the demonic dog rushing at him. And it somehow worked!  
  
The dog landed near the apple tree and laid there, defeated. Begak led the other chickens to the other corner of the pen; as far away as they could get from the thing. Jack tip-toed his way towards it, trying as hard as he could to make no sound in the dew-covered grass. The dog made no move, never twitched. It seemed dead. Jack, keeping as much distance as he could, carefully poked it a bit with his rake. It still made no move, but growled a bit. Apparently it was unconscious. With careful presicion, Jack scooped up the orange demon with the rake as best as he could and headed off towards the church for two reasons: 1) Maybe the dog actually was posessed, and 2) It was as far away from his farm as the village got.  
  
He decided to go by the library rather than by the chicken farm since the dog seemed to like attacking helpless chickens and Ricks. At that time, just getting out of his house for the first time in what seemed like days, was Grey. Grey was a quite hard worker. He didn't like to talk that much, and his posture and movements said it all. (It was somewhat hard not to read these signs of his, such as running into a corner and hissing at people.) However, those he did open his feelings and heart to were a special few who he would trust his life to. However, it was hard even for him to stay silent with the sight of a farmer running with a dog at the end of his rake.  
  
"Um.." He mumbled. Jack jumped a bit and slowed down to a stop and searched for the source of the noise. "What are.. What are you doing with that dog...?" After finding the voice's owner, Jack helpfully pointed to the orange fluffball.  
  
"This STUPID dog keeps on attacking people and I'm on my way to the church to see if it's posessed or something!"  
  
"O..kaaayy.." Grey acknowledged, wide-eyed and confused. Undetered, the capped-farmer ran the rest of his way to the church and knocked loudly on its doors.  
  
"Hello?? Anyone there??" He asked. The doors, being rude as they were, gave no answer. However, there was soon a click and they swung open to reveal the pastor of the church.  
  
"Yes? Is it something urgent? Something personal?" He asked with a pleasant smile, although a little miffed for being disturbed so early in the morning.  
  
"Uhh.." Jack fell short of words, so the ever-so-helpful point to the dog had to suffice.  
  
"..Yes, what is it about the dog...?" Jack just pointed some more. "..Is it dead? Does it need a burial..?"  
  
"Well.. This dog was bothering me..." Silence.  
  
"So you.." The pastor started, still confused.  
  
"No! It isn't dead! He's unconscious." The pastor's smile was long gone and it now curved into a slight frown.  
  
"..The dog just pestering you does not give you the right to hurt it like that.."  
  
"No no!" Jack insisted, "I didn't just walk up and hit it 'cause it was barking or something! It ATTACKED me!" The pastor remained silent. "...It was messing up my fields a few days ago, so I avoided it, but then it tried to attack Rick.."  
  
"..Uh.." The pastor brilliantly started, "..how did you know it was attacking?" Jack's tone fell flat to annoyed.  
  
"His clothes were ripped and torn while the dog chased him. I don't think Rick would run home screaming from a small barking doggie."  
  
"Sorry," the confused pastor said humbly, "continue please."  
  
"Well, I threw a rock at it so that Rick would have time to get into his house.. And this morning it was attacking one of my chickens. I think it might be posessed or something." Jack slowly swung the dog-covered end of the rake to the poor pastor. The pastor said nothing, looking down at the motionless dog.  
  
"...."  
  
"Well, can't you at least check?" The dog's leg suddenly twitched. "Uh- oh..! Quick! Before it wakes up!"  
  
"........"  
  
"Trust me, you don't want to see this thing-" The dog sat up, shook its head, and suddenly jumped off of the rake and regained its bearings. "SHOOT!" Jack yelled, taking shelter behind the priest. Recognizing his enemy's voice, the Evil One quickly went into battle mode and fired a glare at the pastor for helping the blue-capped one. Fear shot down to the priest's heart like an icicle at a speed he had never felt before.  
  
"QUICK!" He yelled, "INTO THE CHURCH!!" The two ran into the church and slammed its doors just as the dog started running at them. They heard a "Thunk!" against the doors and then a lot of barking and scratching.  
  
"See??" Jack snapped.  
  
"Well forgive ME for being skeptical! It isn't everyday I get asked to exorcise a dog, you know."  
  
"Sorry." Jack sighed, looking down.  
  
"Ah," the priest cooed, calming down, "it isn't your fault.. I shouldn't've been so skeptical." Despite the dog ramming and barking at the rude doors, the messily-clothed farmer, and the fact that it wasn't even 6:30 yet, the pastor smiled at Jack. "So I take it you're that new guy running the farm? I didn't catch you're name.."  
  
"Uh.. I'm.. Jack." The handkercheifed youth replied, a bit confused at the sudden conversational change. "You're..?"  
  
"I'm Pastor Carter. It's nice to meet you." He calmly locked the two doors and started lighting the candles at the front of the church near the podium. "Hmm, looks like today's going to be nice." Carter commented, looking out of the stained glass windows. "A lot of fog out right now, but it'll clear up.." Jack started to look about the church to familiarize himself with his surroundings. "I know it's early to ask," Carter started, catching Jack's attention, "but have any of the girls here caught your eye yet?"  
  
"Uhh, not really.." Jack mumbled, still in awe of the stained glass' beauty.  
  
"Ah, well, it's just a few days into your first year here.. I shouldn't expect much so soon, but then, I await your marriages.." The priest was kindly given a few confused looks. "I mean your generation. Five young girls, five young men.. I don't really expect there to be five couples at the end, but someone's going to get married.." he chuckled, "other wise my job's going to be so boring.." He happily sighed and continued his soliloquy as the befuddled farmer watched silently. "But then, it isn't like I can force anyone to marry.. It would be interesting to try, you know, like 'GET MARRIED! RIGHT NOW!' " The sudden volume made the confused farmer jump and the priest laugh. "Hee hee hee.. But then, it isn't like I would.. I don't want to. Happiness cannot be forced out of a person.." He returned to lighting candles. "Sorry, I just gave you a chunk of philosophy for breakfast there, didn't I?" Jack was too confused to answer. All he could think about was how the mayor's words now made sense.. 'a nice man.. a little odd though.' "..Speaking of which," he continued, turning towards the farmer, "have you even had anything to eat?"  
  
"Uh.." Jack blinked, finally getting in touch with reality. "Well.. No, I didn't have the chance to.." He glanced back at the double doors to see if the dog was still there. Since there were a few mumbled growls, he decided to look elsewhere.  
  
"Well then, let's change that, shall we?" The pastor cheerfully suggested, clapping his hands together.  
  
That morning, the weather was just as the priest had predicted. The sun was out, the weather was a balmy 70 degrees, the birds were singing, the flowers were bursting out in colorful bunches, and all seemed to enjoy the natural light's warmth as though it gave a feeling of subtle content with it. And once again Rick was unable to enjoy such a wonderous day.  
  
How long had it been since his father left, he wondered? There had been no sign of him in years, and the very flower he left in search of was rare and elusive.. said to grow once every decade. Every Spring painfully reminded him of where he was now; the flowers taunting him as the gift his long-gone father was desperately looking for, the children playing in the sunlight without worry- nay, unable to comprehend the feeling, the warmth harsh on his sickly mother of which only he could take care of (the doctor unable to do anything for the symptoms and Popuri so irrisponsable).. It seemed almost as though some higher diety wished to taunt him and laugh at his misery. He soon forced himself to shake the thought though. The thought of a divine being doing so much to laugh at a single mortal was foolish, if not selfish in some ways.  
  
Rick could barely stand to look at his mother while she was so ill, but no one else could do anything to take care of her. Her life was in his hands.. And while he had to be the single thing keeping his mother alive, he also had to take care of finances, the chickens, Popuri, the house, the pen.. Carter himself said that Rick had gone through the amount of hardships that most people would experience in their entire lifetimes, but he was still so young, with the harder stages of growing to come. He hadn't really had time to look into starting his own life yet- he hadn't even really had time to get interested in a partner. Two birds flew by the window as Rick longingly stared out through it.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," he sarcastically sighed to himself, "Poor Rick. Everyone feels sorry for Poor Old Rick." The orange-haired man turned back to the dining table he was cleaning off earlier. No matter how much I may 'suffer', he thought, no matter how much I may cry or wallow in self-pity, sorrow never paid for food, sorrow never stopped the world from revolving. Despite the fact that the thought was intended to cheer him up, he chocked and squinted to keep in the swelling tears. Unable to stop himself this time, he leaned against the window as he tried desperately but futiley to stop the tears. What was the point of crying? Why couldn't he stop? No one would care if he cried, why couldn't he stop..?  
  
A duck lazily landed outside the church walls and waddled in a puddle that had yet to fully dry.  
  
"So you met Rick.." Carter thought aloud to the now-full Jack. "I hope you two become good friends.. Er! Not that I'm trying to egg you on or anything!" The pastor's hands bunched up as he tried to prove his innocense as Jack nodded in understanding. "It's just that.. Well, most people find Rick.. hot tempered, I guess.. I don't know, I mean, he's a good man, but he's just hot-headed and stubborn. I honestly think he may not have a single friend here.. I wish I could, but I have too much I have to do here than to wander about town and maje conversation."  
  
"So.. Not even any of the girls in town like him?" Jack asked both the priest and himself.  
  
"I don't really think so.. I believe that Karen did show a bit of interest, but that seemed to fade a few weeks ago, so.."  
  
"Well, do you think he likes any of them?"  
  
"He was good friends with Karen earlier, but then his father left and he had to take on quite a bit of responsability- his mother being sick and his sister so young and all. As for his romantic intentions, I really don't know." Jack thought Rick's charecter over. He seemed so polite.. Quiet, but polite.. Sometimes almost as though he really wanted someone to talk to on a personal level. Suddenly Jack's eyes shot open with an epiphany.  
  
"U-Uh..!" He stuttered, unable to really configure words, "Y-you don't think he's.. Um.. You know.. Not interested in women..?" The pastor gave an innocently confused look.  
  
"Pardon? What do you mean?" The corners of his mouth were suddenly dunked down for a split second as the thought came through his mind. "Um.. I don't think so.. He might be.. Um.. Why..?"  
  
"Well, I really don't get what people mean by Rick having a temper; he seems so nice to me and all and.. Er, well, I'm not really like that, and I just didn't want to hurt his feelings.." Insert awkward silence here.  
  
"Oh!" Carter finally broke the silence, happily sighing, "It seems the dog has gone off!" His words rang true; the scratching and barking had disappaited over the last fifteen minutes. "Well then, I have to be getting back to my pastor-ly duties. It was nice to meet you, Jack. I hope we can talk again sometime soon."  
  
"Thanks, Carter, especially for the food!" Jack happily waved as he cautiously walked out the doors and onwards home. 


	5. YeGADS did I wait too long!

::o_O ... *Slowly edges into view, slightly afraid of any traps that could have been placed during the needless absence* ... Phew! Ok! I'm sorry this took so long and.. *looks at the last updated date* -HOLY CRUD I've let this go too far! *Bows furiously, hitting the keyboard* I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'm ow-!! It took a review of someone's polite impatience to make me get my ass back in gear and start writing about fluffy, innocent chickens again.. *Rubs her forehead* Anyway, again I'm sorry.. Things have been going haywire and downhill for the past few months.. But anyway, since I'm starting to regain myself, I'm going to try on this story once more. *Looks at the publishing date* May, 2002.. It's almost been a year.. I was planning to have finished this by now, but.. Oh maan, I'd better start typing!::  
  
Jack was cautious on his leave from the safety of the church, but with the absence of demonic dogs in sight, he eventually gained confidence and speed. While walking home, Jack decided to check the billboard for upcoming events. The most recent post read:  
  
"Hearest thou allest within the premesis!" (Jack shuddered at the horrid Elizabethan text.) "Ye olde Springe Festivale shall be held Springe 14th! Ask ye olde girls oute, or you may not get the chance!" Spring Festival, Jack contemplated. Sounds like there's going to be some dancing involved.. Time to show off my olde dancing skills! Merrily did our olde protagoniste skip onward home.  
  
*Note: Tis now a few days later.*  
  
"Rick! Riiiick! A spider! Rick! Getitgetit EEWWW!!" Popuri screetched at the top of her lungs from downstairs in the living room. Rick stirred in his bed, glancing at the egg-shaped clock on the wall that read "5:32". The sun peaked its head through the window, signifying the day had just begun.  
  
"Will she never grow up..?" He moaned to himself, slinking out of his comfortable bed and doning his well-worn wear. Stumbling down the stair case, he was met with Popuri's angry glare; her eyes wide and wet with fear, her face red from terror. "Where is it?" The orange-haired young man yawned.  
  
"IT'STHERE IT'STHERE IT'STHERE!!" She rapidly screamed, pointing to a small black spot on the other side of the room. "EEIIYAAGH!! Kill it!" Rick lazilly wandered towards the cupboard and took out a clear cup and withdrew a piece of paper from the pile on the table. Slowly now, to avoid scaring it, Rick placed the cup over the spider and suddenly trapped it. Ignoring his younger sister's screeches and instructions to just kill it, Rick rather slipped the paper underneath the cup and then lifted both. Rushing to avoid any further dialogue from Popuri, Rick quickly ran to the door, opened it, and let the spider out.  
  
"There you go." The man with glasses wistfully thought. "Free a way I'll never be.."  
  
"Oi! Rick-sama!" Rick glanced up, his attention caught by the sudden call to him. Near the entrance to the farm was the youth who was being so friendly to him; Jack. "Your mother feeling any better? I haven't seen a sign of you for days now!" Rick sighed.  
  
"She is as of yesterday, thankfully. I'll be able to join the living soon." The long-haired man stood upright and stretched. "How have the chickens been?" Jack plastered on once more his happy smile.  
  
"They're doing well.." His grin suddenly transformed into a dark glare. "Except for her. That one." Rick curiously cocked his head to one side.  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"That one." Jack continued, glaring at nothing in particular; just the memory of the chicken. "Her. The evil one." Rick scanned his memory to see which one it could have been that Jack of all people could take a disliking to.  
  
"Oh, you mean Begak? What's wrong with her..? You two seemed to get along so well.."  
  
"Eighteen to five. Her favor." Rick angled his head in the other direction, still confused. "I can't believe she's won eighteen times and I only five." Unable to make sense of the newbie farmer, the carrot-top decided to change the subject.  
  
"So.. Anyway.." He yawned. It was still not quite six yet.. "How's the farm going? You've been here for little over a week now.." Jack suddenly popped into his normal optimistic expression like a balloon poked with a needle.  
  
"Ah! I've already harvested a crop of turnips, so I'm going to move on to cuccumbers. I've also started to clean the whole yard!"  
  
"Sounds like hard work."  
  
"Yeah, but I can't imagine what life must be like to face those killer chickens of yours every morning..." Seeing his blue-eyed friend still a little hazy on what it was he was talking about, Jack moved on. "Hey, I heard the Spring Festival's coming up. What's it about anyway?" Rick's eyes, though almost always clear with concentration and ferocity, suddenly dulled and clouded over.  
  
"Ah yes.. The Spring Festival.." Remembering that Jack had just asked him a question, Rick focused on the answer rather than his memories. "Well, it's a traditional festival where we honor the Goddess' return and the sudden gush of life back in the world again.. It's also a time when the younger couples can ask one another out to the Annual Spring Dance.. It's a lot of fun, I guess.." The capped boy squinted and looked into his friend's misty eyes.  
  
"Something wrong, Rick?" The addressed one jumped at the show of concern.  
  
"Wh-what? Pardon me?" Jack persisted with the question.  
  
"What's wrong? You alright? You just suddenly seem sad about something.." Rick couldn't get his widened eyes to close to a normal amount, so he cleverly looked away and cleared his throat.  
  
"I-It's nothing. I just... I've just never been able to get a date myself, that's all." The handkercheif-ed one recalled his conversation with the pastor. 'Never really got along well with the other villagers..' In a desperate attempt to turn the tables, Rick flipped the question back onto Jack. "Have you been able to find a date yourself?" Innocently, Jack scratched the back of his head as though he had been caught playing a prank.  
  
"Ah.. no, not really.." His faced turned red and a grin once again drilled its way between his cheeks. "I mean, the girls here are really cute and all, but I didn't.. you know, want to ask them out or anything.." Rick smiled in return, but mostly at the young man's innocence. Finally he wouldn't be the only one.. finally not alone.. "Hey!" An idea hatched into the young one's head and the sudden action startled the long-haired man. "Rick, I have an idea!"  
  
"Uh.." An idea for the Spring Festival..? What was he talking about? "What would that be?" Jack could barely keep his eyes open, he was grinning so much.  
  
"Well, you know about how the two of us can't find a date.. Perhaps we can 'make' one?"  
  
" 'M-make'..??" This didn't sound good, Rick thought. His inner sirens and alarms were blaring. By now the blue-capped boy was struggling to hold back the laughter.  
  
"Yeah! I know I certainly don't want to show up for my first festival date- less; I'm still making my first impression on the town! And you're probably sick of everyone asking you about who you're asking out or why you can't get a date.." Slowly what little color Rick had started to drain from his complexion.. Jack suddeny froze in his tracks and looked at his thoroughly anxious friend. "Well, I mean, are you interested in this idea?" Rick had to be cautious with his answer.  
  
"W-well, it depends on what your idea really is.." Jack's translation: "Yes!"  
  
"Alrighty then!" Jack beamed. "If anyone asks you who your date is this year, you can now say 'It's a girl that Jack set me up with from another town', ok?" His grin, if it was even possible, grew. "Oh, this is going to be pretty frickin' hilarious!" Immediately, as though chased by a certain dog, Jack sprinted off towards his home, never even hearing Rick's question as to what this brilliant plan was.  
  
Once home, Jack furiously whipped out all of the scraps of fabric he could and splayed them across the floor. Soon after, he snatched out a few spindles of thread and a needle from his bedside drawer and placed them next to the fabric. This accomplished, our protagonist looked across the cloths, contemplating what they would soon form. Once decided, he reached for his scissors when he found out- he didn't have a pair! Curse the Law of Convenience!* (Law of Convenience- Whenever you really want/want to do something, the one item you really need will be nowhere to be found.)  
  
Jack soon thought of the next best thing. Leaping out of his house and into the chicken pen, the handkercheifed one grabbed a fowl and sprinted back inside. By now Jack could tell which chicken was the one he had in his hands right now; he could before he even left the house. Somehow, he had learned how to sense its aura due to how much he had fought with it. Of course, I'm assuming we all know which chicken it is by now.  
  
"BEGAAAK!!" The chicken of the respectful name cried out. Jack furiously struggled to keep the sumo-chicken within his hands.  
  
"Wait-wait-wait!" He pled to the stronger of the two. "Hear me out! I'm trying to do this as a favor for your master! Remember, Rick?" At the sound of his name, Begak suddenly stopped, listening. "I want to do something for him, and I need you to help me. I want you to cut this cloth; you want to do this?" After kicking at air a few futile times, Begak finally relaxed and agreed.. somehow. Now equipped with the Amazing Cutting Chicken, Jack set forth with his plans.  
  
He knew this would be embarassing for him. Especially if anyone figured it out.. But at the same time, Jack always remained focused that he wasn't doing this for himself. All too well was the image of his friend's face suddenly becoming so clouded with depression an memories engraved into Jack's mind. Obviously, the farmer knew more than he let on. Either way, he had to do this.. As hard and humiliating as it could be for him, he had to do this kindess for Rick..  
  
A few days passed by. Dawn would light up the darkened corners of the earth, warm them in the Spring light, and fade into night. While one young man cured his mother, he continued to ignore his feelings since no one else seemed to care about them. They would, however, occasionally interfere with his life and cause him to try to surpress them further. At the same time, another young boy was hurrying back and forth between his duties; poultry farming, harvesting cuccumbers and turnips, and at night working on a personal project. And soon the Fourteenth reared its head to the inhabitants of Mineral town..  
  
Rick waited patiently at the crossroads between Yodel Ranch and the town square. This was the place Jack had so forcably instructed for him to wait.. From the instructions Jack had given him, Rick assumed this was some blind date. The only real clue he got as to the person was 'don't be surprised if you end up following during the dance.' Squinting at the flowering bushes and daffodils through his glasses, blazingly bright in the morning light. Rick still couldn't recall what had made him agree to going on a blind date that Jack of all people was setting up..  
  
"Um.. Excuse me.." A light and delicate voice shyly asked. Rick turned to face the source of the voice. "Rick?" It was a young girl, a little younger than Rick himself. She had a small brown ponytail and her cheeks were almost as deep crimson as a rose. Her eyes were a blue-green, which shined off brightly in the sun's morning glow. Her dress was a motely gathering of colors, made of many fine and common fabrics. Well made and fashionably decorative, it showed off the girl's figure in an attractively modest way. The carrot-top, remembering this was his cue to answer, stuttered and fidgeted with his sleeves.  
  
"Uh, yeah.. Y-You're- um, you're the girl Jack set me up with, right?" Suddenly the girl burst out into giggling, and Rick remained quiet as his face blushed. He knew it; he just humiliated himself once more, another memory he will carry to his grave, mocking him..  
  
"Rick!" She laughed, "It's me!" The long-haired one looked on deeply, trying in all efforts to recall the lovely young girl.. "Jack!" Suddenly, Rick felt light-headed.. Colors suddenly flashed bright and dulled and the world faded into darkness as the last thing he could see was the sky...  
  
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The next chapter is soon to come! I'm so sorry it took so long..! I give my readers permission to hit me with a wooden penguin if I don't post the next chapter within the next two months!! 


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